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County agrees to partner with Ramseur on water line

County agrees to partner with Ramseur on water line

WELL WOES — A proposed project outside Ramseur town limits would bring water to 28 homes that the state says have contaminated ground water at the intersections of Old Staley Road, Whites Chapel Road and N.C. 49. The red dots on this map indicate homes with PCE-contaminated wells. The green dots show wells with no PCE contamination but some petroleum compounds present in wells.

RAMSEUR — Randolph County commissioners agreed Monday to partner with the Town of Ramseur in a bid for a $3 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to extend water to 28 homes on Whites Chapel Road.

The partnership calls for a $28,000 commitment from the county to help those homes connect to a 12-inch water line, if and when it is built.

John Grey with The Wooten Co. told commissioners Ramseur officials were contacted by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) about the possibility of the town providing water to an area near Browns Grocery where the groundwater has been found to be contaminated by petroleum and PCE contaminates.

Browns Grocery was located at the intersection of Whites Chapel Road, Old Staley Road and N.C. 49. Grey said the state has been working in the area since 1998 to address water supply issues. Officials came to the conclusion that piping water to the 28 homes affected was the best solution, he said.

Town officials contacted Grey’s company to look into the engineering and funding for the project. Grey said, after preliminary studies, his company has determined that because the area is 200 feet higher in elevation than Ramseur a booster pump station will be needed to increase the water pressure to serve the area. He said a water storage tank will also be needed.

Grey recommended a 12-inch water line be built from Ramseur to the affected area; a booster pump station and 150,000-gallon elevated tank be installed; and a small number of distribution lines installed to serve the homes affected.

While there are only 28 homes affected by the contamination, there are roughly 65 other homes along N.C. 49 whose residents could also request to connect to the line. There are no funds planned to help those homes make the connection to municipal water.

The line could be extended in the future to serve the Staley area, if desired, Grey said, and to serve as a backup water supply to the Liberty area. Liberty is the only town in Randolph County that continues to receive its water from a series of inground wells.

Under the proposed agreement, Ramseur would administer the grant. The town would be the owner of the line and would provide operation and maintenance of the system.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $3.3 million with $2.5 million going toward construction and the remainder to other services.

Commissioners were open to the agreement, saying this would give the county 3 more miles of water line to help residents and potentially provide for future commercial or industrial development.

Grey reminded the board that the project is still in preliminary stages. He said the pool of funds available from DENR is roughly $30 million and there is no guarantee this project will receive the necessary funds. However, he said, having the county’s support and commitment would give the project added weight when state officials make the final decision.